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Friday, December 3, 2010

Day 4 Advent Jesse Tree

Today is Day 4 of the Advent Calendar Jesse Tree devotions. The symbol, or ornament, for Day 4 is that of a camel and a tent.

The scriptures are Genesis 12:1-7 which is the account of God calling Abram to obey and believe what he is promising and to move to a strange land; and

Hebrews 11:8 - "By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going."

Matthew 1:1 - "This is a record of the birth of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham."

The Old and New Testament readings tie each other together by explaining that Abram's (later his name was changed by God to Abraham which means father of many nations) faith & obedience to leave the land he knew well and travel to a different place he did not know, but God had asked this of him, allowed God to fulfill his promise to give him more children than the stars he could count (in the spiritual realm). We see in Matthew that he was listed as part of the geneology of Jesus, the Messiah because he obeyed & was faithful when God called him.

Activity: A great website that brings lots of Abraham-related activities to light is garden of praise.com.

Of course the game of Simon Says comes to mind - A game in which one person calls out commands such as "hop on one foot." If the words "Simon Says" do not precede the command, the followers are not to do it. This is a good way to get across the lesson of obedience.

Make a Camel in the desert sand picture. Cut out a picture of a camel & glue it to a sheet of sandpaper, then have child color a desert scene on the sandpaper around the camel. Make sure you include a tent to signify Abraham's dwelling.

Today's ornament for the Jesse Tree is the symbol of a camel and a tent. A fun way to make this ornament is with oragami. Scissor Craft.com shows you how. Or, you can cut out a star from cardboard & place a camel & tent shape on top, painting and decorating each one.